Research

Hormonal

Intermittent hypoxia (such as from Obstructive Sleep Apnea) activates NFκB and inflammatory mediators like TNF-α without sufficiently stabilizing HIF-1α, leading to chronic inflammation and disease progression.

If you have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), the intermittent drops in oxygen do not trigger the protective HIF-1α response seen in sustained hypoxia. Instead, they trigger inflammation (NFκB/TNF-α), which accelerates aging and disease. Treating OSA (e.g., with CPAP) is crucial to reducing this inflammatory burden.

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In intermittent hypoxia, a free oxygen deficit is not sufficiently established to allow HIF-1α stabilization; instead, intermittent hypoxia results in the activation of NFκB, possibly through mitochondrial stress, triggering the production of inflammatory mediators, such as TNF-α.
Eui‐Ju Yeo · Experimental & Molecular Medicine · 2019

Why this rating

The paper reviews multiple studies (refs 67-70) on OSA and intermittent hypoxia.

Source

Hypoxia and aging

Eui‐Ju Yeo · Experimental & Molecular Medicine · 2019

DOI 10.1038/s12276-019-0233-3

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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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